Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in favor of H.R. 9596, the Value Over Cost Act. The GSA keeps a list of goods and services that

are available to Federal agencies for multiple GSA-approved vendors at different prices. This schedule is known as the Federal supply schedule. Agencies can order commercial goods and services listed on this schedule in different quantities at the prices stated on the schedule.

It provides a simplified process for agencies to acquire goods and services while also earning the volume discounts for the Federal Government as a whole.

Current law is ambiguous about whether the contracts and orders under the Federal supply schedule program must be the lowest price or the best value price. Best value contracts consider price but also things like the quality of the product and the expertise of the service provider.

The bill clarifies that both the lowest price and the best value are acceptable outcomes for contracts obtained under the scheduled program.

I commend Representative Byron Donalds and Representative Gerry Connolly from Virginia for their work on the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5301, the Eliminate Useless Reports Act. I thank my distinguished colleague from California, the ranking member of the Oversight and Accountability Committee, Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs, Mr. Garcia for introducing H.R. 5301. I am proud to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman from California (Mr. Robert Garcia) 2 minutes to discuss it.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1510, the GAO Inspector General Parity Act. I commend both Senator Michael Braun for introducing the bill and also my colleagues, Representatives Robert Garcia and Lisa McClain, for introducing the House companion.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Robert Garcia) to explain the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 2274. Dessie Bebout was a lifelong public servant, and this legislation would honor her legacy by naming a post office in Shoshoni, Wyoming, after her.

We support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise in support of S. 3267, which would honor the enduring legacy of First Lieutenant Thomas Michael Martin by naming a post office building in Huron, South Dakota, after him.

He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1998 and pursued his military and academic education at West Point. He completed his armor officer basic training at Fort Knox and served as a dedicated armor officer.

Tragically, while conducting combat operations in Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, First Lieutenant Martin was killed in action on October 14, 2007. He was 27 years old.

Mr. Speaker, I support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise in support of S. 3419. John Charles Traub, otherwise known as Chuck, dedicated his life to this country. He was a World War II, U.S. Army Air Corps veteran and served 40 years in the Postal Service, including 10 years as postmaster of Camp Hill in Pennsylvania. He was a dedicated member of numerous civil society groups and church organizations in Camp Hill, including the Camp Hill Fire Company and The American Legion. He volunteered at Holy Spirit Hospital. He was a Camp Hill Borough officer and also participated at the Church of God Nursing Home.

Chuck passed away on November 6, 2017, at the age 94, leaving a great legacy of community service.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly support and urge passage of this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I am rising in support of S. 2143. Staff Sergeant Robb Lura Rolfing studied astronomy and physics at Vassar. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in January of 2023 and was stationed at Fort Campbell in Kentucky with 101st Airborne Division. He completed his first tour in Iraq before joining the U.S. Army Special Forces where he

earned his Green Beret. At the age of 29, on June 20, 2007, Staff Sergeant Rolfing was killed in action in Iraq.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to honor his life by naming a post office in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, after him, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to celebrate National Chess Week and recognize the remarkable accomplishments of this year's U.S. Chess Olympiad teams, who recently traveled to Budapest, Hungary. Across the country chess players young and old gather in parks, coffee shops, schools, and dorm rooms to analyze legendary games between grandmasters, play rapid games, and forge lasting friendships.

As a chess enthusiast who has loved the game since elementary school, I have come to understand and appreciate that chess is not just a tremendous passion for millions of people, but a universal language and a powerful tool for the education of young people. Chess stirs and fortifies every player's emotional, psychological, and intellectual development.

Widely considered to be the pinnacle of international chess, the Chess Olympiad is a biennial competition organized by the World Chess Federation where teams from all over the world gather to compete. This September, the 45th Chess Olympiad was held in Budapest, Hungary, with 188 nations and territories competing in the Open section and 169 teams in the Women's competition--both record turnouts.

In just the second time in almost 70 years, both U.S. teams medaled. Teammates Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana, Grandmaster Wesley So, Grandmaster Lenier Dominguez, Grandmaster Levon Aronian, Grandmaster Ray Robson, team captain International Master John Donaldson, and coach Grandmaster Mikhail Antipov secured a silver medal in the Open competition.

Their colleagues on the U.S. Women's team, International Master Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova, International Master Carissa Yip, Grandmaster Irina Krush, International Master Alice Lee, International Master Anna Zatonskih, team captain Grandmaster Melikset Khachiyan and coach Grandmaster Alexander Onischuk, took the bronze. Each of these remarkable chess players embodies the mission of U.S. Chess to ``empower people, enrich lives, and enhance communities through chess.'' I have no doubt that the members of this year's U.S. teams will inspire future generations to excel at chess and to spread love of the game.

In my district, the U.S. Chess Center, established in beautiful Silver Spring, has shared chess with 40,000 students at over 150 schools across the National Capital Region. Former world champion and Grandmaster Garry Kasparov, perhaps the greatest chess player who has ever lived, played a significant role in encouraging the creation of this vibrant institution and made short work of the Eighth District's United States Representative when we played, although it was still a great experience. Nearby, the recently established D.C. Chess Association promotes the joy of chess across our Nation's Capital.

Mr. Speaker, chess is for everyone to play and enjoy. During this National Chess Week, we invite Americans of all backgrounds and abilities to experience the timeless magic and strategic beauty of chess, and I again congratulate both U.S. Chess Olympiad teams on their historic achievements. May their continued success inspire generations of future champions.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor a constituent who devoted his extraordinary life to the fight for worker justice. From the restaurant workers of Washington, D.C. to the staffers who keep Capitol Hill running, all of Daniel Katz's clients found in him a champion for dignity, fair wages and working conditions. On July 25, 2024, Danny's loved ones lost a treasured husband, father, and friend and the world lost a principled, persistent and brilliant public servant.

Danny was driven by his conviction that worker justice is the foundation of a just society. He believed in the fundamental principle that a dignified workplace for even the lowest paid workers raises the standards all for all workers. After working for a private practice specializing in employment law, Danny founded the District of Columbia Employment Justice Center, becoming its first director. It also didn't matter which court heard one of his client's cases; over the course of his career, Danny represented clients before every one of the federal, state and local courts in Maryland and D.C.

For Danny, his duties to his clients extended beyond the courtroom. He advocated for legislation at the D.C. City Council on worker pay issues and testified before the U.S. Congress on the rampant menace of wage theft. He lent his considerable talents pro bono to clients seeking assistance from the Public Justice Center in Baltimore, the Maryland Legal Aid Bureau, the Woman's Law Center of Maryland and the Sexual Assault Legal Institute. He was dedicated to sharing his wealth of knowledge with his fellow attorneys, frequently teaching continuing education courses for lawyers on litigating claims under wage-and-hour laws and how his colleagues could most effectively represent immigrants and low-wage workers.

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Danny maintained his focus on the most vulnerable workers in our communities. After establishing accessible legal clinics for workers across the DMV, he ensured that the Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs could keep these clinics open virtually and continue providing services. The clinic didn't miss a single week as Danny and a team of like-minded lawyers served workers seeking legal aid when they needed it most. Danny used his membership in the National Employment Lawyers Association to build both solidarity and expertise among members of the labor bar.

By the time he reached the House of Representatives as Senior Counsel at the Office of Employee Advocacy (OEA), Danny had 25 years of experience advocating for workers. He had earned numerous accolades, including the Maryland Employment Lawyers Association ``Excellence in Advocacy'' award and the ``Visionary Award'' in 2018 for his work with the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault. Just as he had done in every job prior to the House OEA, Danny acted as a dedicated mentor to his colleagues and aspiring attorneys and a fierce advocate for his clients.

His loss is profound and sharply felt in our community. I join the people of Maryland's beautiful Eighth District in honoring the life of Danny Katz, a titan in the fight for workers' rights, and in sending my condolences to his wife Lael, his son and his daughter Lucia. May Danny's memory be a blessing.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, the CBO Data Access Act is a commonsense, good government bill. I commend Senator Gary Peters and Senator Susan Collins for introducing it on the Senate side, as well as Congressman LaTurner, the gentleman from Kansas, and Chairman Grothman and Ranking Member Mfume for sponsoring the House companion.

The bill would accelerate the speed and improve the accuracy with which the CBO analyzes the budgetary consequences of proposed legislation by providing CBO with an exemption to the Privacy Act.

H.R. 7032, which has passed both the House and Senate, requires CBO to treat any information it receives with the same level of confidentiality as the agency from which it is received. That is a wise safeguard that will work well in tandem with this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly support the Reuse Excess Property Act, which would dramatically increase transparency across the Federal Government by strengthening Federal reporting requirements about excess personal property.

I commend Senators Peters and Lankford for introducing it and Chairwoman McClain and Ranking Member Katie Porter for introducing the House counterpart.

The Federal Government has amassed billions of dollars in personal property, including furniture, things like chairs and desks, vehicles, office supplies, and medical equipment. Billions of dollars means a lot of tables and chairs and computers.

Federal agencies are required to survey and index their inventories of personal property annually and identify items they no longer need.

This accounting enables agencies to have a better understanding of excess items that could be considered for use in other Federal agencies or institutions, which is obviously the prudent thing to do.

The GAO identified $3.9 billion in excess personal property between FY 2016 and FY 2020 and found an additional $28.9 billion in excess personal property items that were reported but not obtained by other agencies.

These excess items could be transferred to other Federal agencies and departments, distributed to a State or local government, or even sold to the public. It shouldn't just be sitting there.

The Reuse Excess Property Act would increase Federal reporting requirements to Congress and the public and provide greater transparency of acquisition, monitoring, reuse, and disposal of personal property across the whole Federal Government. It directs the GSA and Federal agencies to report annually to Congress data that it collects related to excess personal property and would also make this data publicly available to all of us.

This greater transparency around Federal use of personal property may help agencies make far more efficient use of these items.

We support this financially prudent and commonsense bipartisan legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, we urge all of our colleagues to support this legislation and for all Federal agencies to cooperate and aggressively participate in this program.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to echo the gentleman from Kansas in expressing support for S. 3639 for the naming of the post office after Robert Hayden.

My colleague stated well his career. He did publish nine different collections of poetry, including the very well-reviewed ``Heart-Shape in the Dust,'' ``Figures of Time,'' and ``A Ballad of Remembrance.''

His writings leaned on his own study of American history, exploring the complexities of the Black American experience and situating it within the broader context of the development of the American story.

In 1976, Hayden made history when he became the first African American to be appointed as a consultant in poetry to the Library of Congress.

He passed away in 1980 in Ann Arbor.

I urge all my colleagues to honor the life of Robert Hayden and his career in literature by naming a post office in Ann Arbor, Michigan, after this distinguished writer.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 3640.

Lieutenant Jefferson was born in 1921 in Detroit, Michigan.

After graduating from Chadsey High School and earning his bachelor's degree in chemistry and biology from Clark College, he was accepted into the Aviation Cadet Training Program in the U.S. Army Corps. He completed combat training in Michigan and pilot training at the Tuskegee Army Airfield.

Jefferson served the cause of democracy and freedom faithfully in World War II in our struggle against fascism and totalitarianism in Europe.

As a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, he was shot down and captured by Nazi troops. He suffered great hardship as a prisoner of war in Nazi- occupied Poland until he was finally freed by General George Patton's Third Army, which was busy liberating people from fascists all over Europe.

When he returned home from war, Jefferson took a job as a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service. He later earned his teaching certificate and a master's degree in education at Wayne State.

He taught elementary school science in Detroit, was appointed an assistant principal, and in 1979 retired with 31 years of service in public education, as well as all of his years fighting for America and for freedom.

I urge my colleagues to honor the life and service of Lieutenant Colonel Jefferson by naming this post office in Mount Clemens, Michigan, after him.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 3851.

Sojourner Truth's life and legacy have profoundly shaped our country. Born in 1797 in Ulster County, New York, with the name Isabella Baumfree, she spent her childhood enslaved. In 1826, she courageously and historically escaped the shackles of slavery when her enslaver, John Dumont, refused to honor the State of New York's law declaring the freedom of all enslaved human beings.

In 1843, she adopted the name Sojourner Truth as a testament to her faith and her pilgrimage of freedom and hope. She then committed to speaking around America about the truth of conditions for enslaved people and the rights of African Americans. Sojourner Truth worked with key figures in the abolitionist movement. After meeting with the esteemed Elizabeth Cady Stanton in 1850, she, herself, became a passionate advocate for women's rights.

In 1851, Sojourner Truth delivered her landmark ``Ain't I a Woman?'' speech at a women's rights convention in Akron, Ohio. She declared that women and Black Americans deserved equal rights and dignity, and her speech was met with roars of applause and tears from activists who were united in calling for a woman's right to vote and for equal rights for all Americans.

She was one of the first Black women to win a court case against a White person, successfully freeing her son from slavery and bringing him back to New York in 1828.

In 1857, Sojourner moved to Harmonia, Michigan, and later to Battle Creek as a member of President Ulysses S. Grant's reelection campaign. She died in Battle Creek at 86 years old.

She was inducted in the National Women's Hall of Fame as a pioneer of social justice and became the first Black woman to be honored with a bust in the U.S. Capitol's Emancipation Hall.

I strongly urge my colleagues to honor the memory of Sojourner Truth by naming a post office in Battle Creek, Michigan, after this great American.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6633. Staff Sergeant Ryan Knauss was born and raised in Corryton, Tennessee. As a high school student, Knauss joined the Junior ROTC cadet program to prepare for his eventual enlistment in the military. Immediately upon graduation, he joined the U.S. Army. Following his basic training, he was given a designation as a paratrooper for the 82nd Airborne in North Carolina.

Staff Sergeant Knauss continued his life of service and devotion in two different Afghanistan deployments, the first as part of a psychological operations battalion, the second in August 2021 to support noncombatant evacuation operations, nearly 20 years after the United States' first mission began in Afghanistan.

Tragically, 13 American servicemembers lost their lives in the final stages

of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, and Staff Sergeant Knauss was one of those Americans lost in a conflict in which more than 7,000 Americans were lost over the course of the entire war. He made the ultimate sacrifice on August 26, 2021, and all Americans are indebted to him and his family.

H.R. 6633 will honor the life of Staff Sergeant Knauss by naming a post office in Seminole, Florida, after him.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.